“We’re a bunch of wireless guys that absolutely love wireless data,” Russell Simatic said of his three partners, himself and their one-year-old venture, Pulse.
Simatic, president and chief executive officer, and vice presidents Gordon Clark, Jeff Loltveit and Jeff Volkman left Sprint PCS in 2002 with a soft spot for the wireless data market. They recognized the potential of wireless data, according to Simatic, but they thought wireless carriers did a bad job promoting it, and they didn’t think people “got it.”
So the group formed a business focused on providing customers with simple, practical and affordable data solutions. Key to that focus was developing a universal solution comprised of software that would work on any network.
Through those principal goals, Pulse Cellphone Enhancement Software, which can be used on any wireless Web-enabled phone and on any network, was born.
The Pulse application allows the phone to act as a personal organizer that communicates with a user’s personal computer. It is meant to integrate with a PC so users can update files, contacts and other information easily on a PC, but also access it from anywhere on their mobile phones. “Our product makes your phone a mobile extension of your PC,” said Simatic.
As such, Pulse is competing in a field that usually includes competitors like Microsoft Corp. and other software giants that are trying to find a way to bridge the information gap between PCs and mobile devices.
The Pulse software suite was first developed for business customers. The applications give users access to personal organizers that include a travel assistant, expense calculator, mileage log and access to business files containing information on customers, price lists and parts booklets. The application also enables workers to send and receive information and data in the field, and access remote time clocks, online schedulers, asset trackers and reporting tools.
According to Simatic, enterprises recognized the potential return on investment the universal software held, as well as the improved ROI it added to already-purchased handsets. Pulse currently markets the product directly to enterprise customers, but is interested in also distributing it through other sales-oriented companies.
The company has also developed wireless consumer applications that allow consumers to similarly access personal information stored on a PC, like medical records, insurance information and to-do files, from mobile devices.
Most recently, Pulse worked with the National Football League’s Minnesota Vikings to give its fans wireless access to information usually available on the Vikings Web site via its new Pulse Mobile Promotion product. The product was rolled out in late November, so it only made it to the final two Vikings home games. Even so, user numbers were in the thousands, and Pulse received more than 800 hits per day, according to Simatic.
The service could be used for similar promotional purposes by organizations like dating services, alumni groups, and other professional and college sports organizations. The application bodes well for all parties involved: carriers, which might see an increases in minutes of use; the organization, which could receive newfound revenue without much investment; and the customer, who receives an added service.
Pulse plans to deliver a mobile coupon application next. With such a product, vendors could advertise to targeted groups of customers and offer special deals on specific products.
